Holiday Treats
by Flame Falcon
Summary: (Entry for Smash King24's Christmas Contest 2014) When Zelda is out with a high fever and laments that she will not be able to make her favorite childhood treat, a certain blue haired mercenary thinks he can help. When he bites off more than he can chew, he learns an important lesson of the holiday season himself.


**Well, here it is, my entry into the Smash King24's 2014 Christmas Contest. I had a blast writing this and I hope you enjoy it. Well, enough of a madman's ramblings, let the story begin.**

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><p>"Hmhp phis oot umh hm mhumh."<p>

"Thirty more seconds, Zelda." Ike said as he checked his wrist watch again. "You aren't gagging on it, you can last much longer. Besides, this time of year you often have stuff in your mouth longer than this."

"Humph." The Hylian princess grunted in annoyance as she crossed her arms and looked out the window. The snowflakes were falling gently in the evening moonlight, dancing as the crisp winds tossed them too and fro. Downstairs she heard Christmas songs, both classics and revamped pop versions of them. She could smell the mint cookies Peach was making down stairs.

She would be enjoying it, if she wasn't as green as said cookies. Ike pated down her brow again and checked his watch again. Nodding his head, he pulled the thermometer out of her mouth and wiped in off as he read the temperature. "102.2 degrees. I knew you were burning up." Zelda coughed right before she could make a comeback to him. Ike placed the thermometer down on the nightstand next to the small Christmas tree. He reached over and gave Zelda two small red pills and a glass of ice water.

She took the pills with some annoyance. "Merry Christmas to me." She muttered in a sarcastic voice as she swallowed the pills. She sipped some of the water and placed it back on nightstand. She folded her arms and looked out the window. "I think I will be better tomorrow morning, I know I will be." She was speaking to herself more or less, in some attempt to cheer herself up.

Ike was about to say something, but realized that it was best to be quiet. Zelda was sick, on Christmas Eve none of the less. Earlier this morning, she was bright and chipper, laughing and wrapping the gifts for the little ones with Peach while gossiping about the gaudy sweater that Link's grandmother knitted him for the holiday. Then, as Ike kissed her under mistletoe that Pit held above them, she passed out in his arms. At first he laughed but then thought she was on fire as he placed his hand on her forehead.

Now, she was up here. On Christmas Eve, quarantined from everyone else so they wouldn't be getting a very aggressive bug as a present, with only Ike to keep her company as he was immune to most of the sicknesses Hylians caught. She sighed and he rested his hand on her own. "It's just a day. You can always open your presents the day after, and we will be there to help-"

She broke out into a sob. "It's not that I am upset about… it just I want to be there. There is always that certain magical element of Christmas that I can never fully understand. The lights on the tree always look a bit brighter, the hot chocolate tastes just a bit sweeter, and the joy is just everywhere." She slid back into her pillows and shook her head. "It also reminds me of my parents, my mother especially."

Ike could see that he hit a very tender spot and felt ashamed of himself for doing so. Zelda ignored this and continued. "When I was little, my mother would wake up before the wood was placed in the great fire place. She would make me my favorite traditional Christmas treat, fudge delight. It was a delicacy because of the rich imported chocolate and some of the finest oats we had on hand. An hour before I would wake up, she would prepare the desert, she would roll out the dough, mix the fudge with some of the most finely aged liquor for the special holiday taste to the treat, and then bake it."

She smiled and shook her head as a sad smile formed. "The smell would wake me up and I would sprint downstairs, and there would be the giant pine tree covered with ornate ornaments and strings of popcorn. Gifts would be under it, and dad would be smoking his pipe, reading the classic Christmas tales of our people."

She shivered and Ike pulled another purple blanket over her shivering form. "It was tradition, something I always looked forward to doing. Since they are gone, every Christmas since I came here started with baking those treats, so they could be filled with the same joy I would."

Ike sighed. "I see. But you need to stay away from the others, just in case you give them this fever." Zelda still looked sad, so Ike looked around and noticed the Christmas book she had left on her vanity. "Tell you what. You need your rest so you can get better, so why don't you relax and I will read you a tale or two from that tome?"

She smiled, before she broke out into a coughing fit. "Alright." He rose from the chair and took the book from its stand and sat back down. "Read 'The Twili on the Shelf', it's one of my all time favorites."

So Ike cleared his throat as he found the story. As the wind blew outside, he read Zelda the story. Apparently, families with children in Hyrule were to create a stuffed twili and place it on a shelf after the Harvest Feast, roughly one month before Christmas Day. This doll was then supposed to observe the children of the house hold, see who was kind or selfish, and then on Christmas Eve would disappear. It would then tell Greatfather Winter if the children were worthy of any of the gifts they wanted. Good children were given lasting toys and treats, while the naughty were given a stocking full of ice.

As Ike continued to read the story, much like his father did with him when he was a little one; Zelda slowly began to drift off to sleep. "So, remember my little ones, be kind to those less fortunate then you, for you never know if the twili on the shelf is watching you." Ike said as he finished the story. He closed the book and saw that Zelda was already asleep. He stretched out and tried to make little noise as he walked away to put the book back on the vanity.

As he placed the red leather bound tome back on the stand it had, he saw another book down on his left. It was buried under a significant layer of clutter but Ike could make out the words _Holiday Treats _on the spine. He glanced back to Zelda, who was snoring in an unprincess like manner. He carefully brushed off the jewelry and other pendants that covered the book, making sure that no sounds were made.

He pulled the book out and read the title mentally. _A Collection of Hylian Holiday Treats and Meals._ Ike saw a book mark placed in at around the middle of the book, and read Zelda's neat handwriting. 'Fudge delights.'

He picked up the book and took one last look at his watch. It was around 11 o'clock in the evening; no way was anyone awake besides him. The music which was driving him borderline insane was ceased, the smell of mint cookies was stale in the air, and the lights were all turned off in the hallway.

He paused for a moment as he considered his options. He could leave the book, go to bed, wake up at seven or when ever Lucas and Ness woke the mansion up, and take part of festivities while Zelda remained bedridden. Or he could make a complete arse of himself and try his hand at baking, using machines he had no idea how to operate and make a huge mess in the product. And maybe, and a big maybe at that, he could make these treats.

Well, Christmas was known for miracles.

Ike closed the door silently behind him and moved down the hallway trying not to make a sound. No creatures were supposed to be stirring, not even a mouse. _Well_ _if mice WERE stirring, Peach_'s_ screaming would tell us_, Ike mused in his head.

He moved from carpeted floors to the antique staircase. The old wood creaked under his weight, and Ike could tell he was getting closer to the kitchen just by the pungent aroma of mint that was growing in intensity. He stepped of the last stair and made a few turns both left and right until he opened a door that led to the kitchen.

He flicked on the light switch and the natural light shade florescent bulbs clicked on. The kitchen was decorated just the same as any other part of the mansion. Peach placed several mistletoes over the doors, sinks and other placed she could catch Mario by surprise. There were some Christmas lights that adorned the walls, both of crimson and emerald in color. The freestanding island in the middle was where Ike placed down the book and flipped it open to the page Zelda had marked.

Almost instantly, he saw where this was going to go rough for him. The recipe was written in Hylian, and not the simplified version that Zelda taught him when they spared for the tourneys and brawls. This was the royal dialect, the one she would speak privately with Link in when she wanted no one else to understand what the two were talking about. Whereas the normal tongue of Hyrule had roughly thirty characters, the Highborn dialect had around a hundred, give or take a few unspoken gestures which Ike was pretty sure were syllables. And each of them was probably something one shouldn't say aloud in society.

Ike sighed and thought about what to do. It was quite obvious at this point he was just attempting this to impress Zelda, he reasoned with himself. Why else would he do this? If it was Samus, he probably wouldn't have done so because Snake would have strangled him with some of the ribbons used to wrap the Christmas presents. He might have done it for the kids, but if their cook book was like this, it was going to be griddle cakes then.

"In for a copper, in for a platinum." He muttered the old Crimean saying under his breath as he read the first line over and over again. "Three….handfuls of … daisy flour? What in saint Nick's beard is daisy flour?" Ike looked around and saw the jar labeled flour, and sighed with some relief as he opened it. Peach remembered to refill it this time around, so there was plenty in there.

Now he just needed to find something to mix everything in. Thankfully the numbers were the same for both Hylian dialects and given from what the numbers were, he was going to need a large bowl. He moved some more assorted jars around and found the mixer, bowl attached underneath it. Thank heavens, one less thing for him to find.

He took off his fingerless gloves and placed them aside. He reached into the flour pot and pulled up a cupped handful of flour, which he then tossed that into the bowl. A small puff of white flour erupted into his face, causing him to wave that away. He looked back to the list as he repeated the step two more times.

He turned on the radio to get some music, which happened to be the O Come O Come Emmanuel, which happened to be one of his favorites. He had a long night ahead of him.

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><p>"Where is it?" Ike swore again under his breath as he moved aside some more seasonings as he looked for what he tried to translate a peanut powder. In the span of three hours, he had turned the kitchen upside down more than once, stretched the translations of at least seven of the ingredients, and hadn't even begun to mix the dry ingredients. It was almost two in the morning and he needed to get started making this Hylian holiday treat.<p>

There it was. Peanut power and peanut flower must be the same thing, Ike thought to himself. He pulled the bag out and measured out two heaping tablespoons of the weird smelling powder and placed it in with the rest of the dry ingredients. He looked down at the pile of flours, powders, down to the last dash of salt and cup of oats. All of this work… it should be worth it. He closed the top down and flipped the switch of the mixer.

Nothing happened.

He flipped the switch back and forth a few times and still nothing happened. He looked at the machine, hoping it wasn't burned out from what Peach had done to it. He then saw he forgot to plug the machine in. Silly me, he chuckled in his throat as he proceeded to plug it in.

In retrospect, he should have set the power setting back to 0 when he was doing this, and not leaving it at MAX. The second the prongs were in, Ike's vision became white as the dry ingredients kicked up into his face. His eyes, nose, and mouth were filled with the powder and his hearing was as well. He was confused and in a state of momentary shock as his entire bowl kicked itself up and scattered itself all across the kitchen.

He panicked and shot out his hand, shutting the accursed machine off by pulling back the knob, but the damage was already done. The powder was everywhere; on the floor, on the counters, in the sink, on his clothes and all over his face. Powder still hung in the air and as if to add insult to injury, the radio began a new song. _IIIIIIIII'm dreaming of a whiiiiiite-_

Ike yanked the cord out of the wall and the music died promptly as he slammed his crossed arms down on the counter, which was soon followed by his head as he sat down on the stool. He let out a sob of frustration. All that work, all that searching and what was the result? A bruised ego, a huge mess (some of which was on Zelda's diary) and wasted sleep.

Some Christmas morning this was going to be. Ike didn't know what he dreaded looking forward to the most, the fact that the other smashers would laugh at him for making such a mess or that Zelda would hang him by his stockings without much care. But to be honest, he was really angry with himself, for making such a mess and he brought this on himself.

He was about to actually start crying at his stupidity when he felt a hand brush along his back, that slowly massaged it in a sympathetic way. He raised his head up and saw the deep ice blue eyes of Princess Zelda, filled with wonder and sympathy. She looked better, but her hair was a mess and she was wrapped in her favorite robe for warmth. "Ike… why is the kitchen a mess? And why do you have my diary?"

Ike felt a lump in his throat and wanted to cower away from her. He had seen what Zelda was capable when she was angry. But, he was caught, so he might as well tell the truth. "I found your diary with the bookmark that went to your fudge delights. You were sick so I thought I could cheer you up by making them for you. So I stole the diary and tried to make them, even though I couldn't read the Highborn dialect and I made a huge mess in the process that amounted to nothing. I-"

He was promptly cut off when Zelda wiped away the flour mix that was covering his lips and planted a deep kiss on them. Ike was initially taken back and just sat there dumbstruck as her lips melted on his. She pulled back after a few seconds with a merry smile on her lips. "That is so sweet."

Now Ike was really confused. "But Zelda, I stole your diary, made a mess of things, and ruined everything with nothing to show for it. Not even a batch to give you as a present."

Zelda laughed, and Ike noted that it sounded healthy. "Oh Ike, I don't care about that. I don't care if you made a huge arse of yourself trying to do this or the fact you stole my private journal. You made me come back home. When my mom first tried to do this, she was going through the exact same scenario you were. She had to try at least fifteen different recipes before she got it right. The gesture that you did this was all I could ever ask for. You got into the holiday spirit and goodwill. Now then." she snapped her fingers twice, and by some ethereal force, the kitchen cleaned itself as pots and pans went back together and ingredients were picked off the floor and thrown away. She then proceeded to clap her hands and a pot of tea began to make itself. "I can help you translate this, just do exactly as I say."

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><p>With her help, the recipe began to make sense for Ike as he poured in the ingredients with precision accuracy. It wasn't that hard of a recipe he originally thought of; just some flour, shortening, oats, sugar, and other common day ingredients. As the treats baked, Ike and Zelda sat across the table, sipping strong tea as the sun began to break over the horizon. They talked about their past Christmases with friends and families. Zelda made an embarrassing confession that she accidently set one of the trees on fire when she was seven, though it was a smaller one then the main tree. Ike also had a sheepish look when he told of the time he woke his family up at one in the morning to open presents.<p>

As the treats were cooling on a rack, Ike came back into the room with a small box, wrapped in candy cane stripes and a small sticky bow on top of it. "I think you could open this gift, since we are waiting for that to cool down." He held the package out to her and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Zelda."

"Ike, you shouldn't have." She smiled back as she took it from him. She tore open the paper and her face went from one of happiness to one of pure shock. "Ike… it's beautiful." She pulled free a long silken dress the same color blue as his hair. She held it to her chest and smiled. "It's the perfect size for me too." She then noted the silver necklace, fashioned in the emblem of the triforce, with amethyst, a ruby and topaz carved into triangles and fitted inside of the tirforce to represent the three Golden Goddesses.

"I needed Peach's female advice, and I tried my best to find something you didn't have." Ike said in a humble tone. Zelda wiped away a tear that formed on the corner of her eye. She made the gesture for him to stay where he was as she went out of the room to get his present.

Ike sipped his tea as he heard the pitter patter of feet behind him. He spun around and saw the approaching forms of Lucas, Ness, Ice Climbers, Toon Link who was affectionately called Toony, and even Kirby run down the stairs. The looks on their faces assured Ike that they knew full well that they knew it was Christmas morning. They were about to run off to the ballroom, where the Christmas tree was at, when Ike called out. "Hey! Wooho, stop right where you are."

The kids, well Ike assumed Kirby was a kid, stopped and walked hesitantly towards Ike. "What do you mean? It's Christmas! We should be opening our gifts and see if we were good boys and girl this year." Toony said with all the spunk of his older brother.

"Yeah!" Ness agreed in a quiet yell.

"Poyno!" Kirby seconded.

Ike chuckled. "Yes, but have you checked the time? It's barely six in the morning. Relax, you will get your chance to open them. Just let everyone else get their sleep." Their faces visibly deflated as he spoke those words. "But in the mean time, you can have a proper Christmas breakfast."

"Snowman shaped pancakes?" Popo and Nana asked near simultaneously.

"No." Ike said as he walked over to the cooled pan of fudge delights. The oat dough base was golden brown while the dark chocolate fudge added a nice contrast, while the remaining dough was added as dollops in the fudge. He pulled a butter knife free and carved the treat into squares. "A real Christmas breakfast consists of Christmas cookies and these special Hylian delights."

He passed each kid one of the rich, gooey deserts as they ran to the dining table with their desert. He heard Zelda click her tongue behind him with a comedic tone in it, "That isn't really healthy Ike."

"It's every kid's dream day, let them have their fun." Ike turned to her and noted that she was wearing the dress he gave her. It hugged her body in all the right places and she looked like a blue fairy in it. She held out a gift for him, it was a long box. Ike took it with a nod of thanks and opened it.

Inside was his favored sword, Ragnell, polished to a gleam and sharpened. Also inside was some new armor plates to add to next season's costume. They were ebony black and shined to perfection. "I thought you would like something more practical in the way of gifts. So as you stole my diary, I… asked Master Hand if I could borrow your sword for a while."

Ike chuckled. "Thank you very much, Zelda." He placed that aside and noted that she was standing impatiently. He saw her hand was pointed upwards, and Ike's eyes followed. He spotted the mistletoe and looked back down to her. "You remember what happened last time we did this?"

She laughed and grabbed his collar and brought him in for a kiss. Both of them embraced each other while the inevitable 'eeeeeww' came from the youngsters behind them. She pulled back and rested his forehead on hers. Her temperature had subsided, just as she predicted. "Merry Christmas, Zelda."

She looked into his eyes and smiled with her whole heart. "Merry Christmas, Ike."


End file.
